Perception Can Lead To Understanding Or To Anger

Perception doesn’t always mean you are on the same page as someone else. There are so many exceptions to the "understanding" meaning of the word. Every day we must go through perceptions. One may look out the window, see that it’s cloudy, and decide to take a raincoat. One’s sister, on the other hand, perceives that it’s going to be sunny and warm. Their perceptions of the weather differ.
Their perception may convince them that they are getting the best car on the road, and others may not agree.

Due to conditioning and learning on our own, perception can be a challenge. We can’t know what perception someone has, without letting it out in the open. One may perceive that the group they are going to see is going to be awesome. Maybe they weren’t what was expected. Our perception is a tricky trait we humans possess. When our perception turns out to be wrong, many things may happen. Almost assuredly, an argument ensues, and on occasion, there is an "understanding".

In order to know what perceptions one has, some type of confrontation needs to happen so both parties understand each other. If either one of the perceptions is wrong, it is only by conversation that this info can be found out. Having revealed how we think about things is one of our greatest blessings. Once we know how another person is perceiving situations, we can make amends or decide not to deal with that person again.

Perception can only be dealt with once the perception of another
is on the same track. One may think it time to plant flowers, perceiving the beauty when they grow, and another may perceive cold nights and suggest the plants stay in the house a little longer.
It’s probably fair to say that we all go through perceptions, everyday, sometimes more than once. One may perceive that they have time to get through a red light, and end up in an accident, simply because they perceived, but didn’t think things through.

That is the only way we can eliminate a lot of our perceptions; by thinking things through. We must perceive in one’s mind all the facts, all the gut feelings, and all the truths of a current situation we may be wrestling with. Thinking before one speaks isn’t easy. When a thought goes through our minds, we tend blurt it out loud before perceiving what those words will do.

A little child may show their dad a card they made, perceiving that dad will be proud, and happy. When he shows it to the dad, he is told that "dad is busy" and he’ll look at it later. Deflated, the little one retreats, feeling empty and not important. The dad, continues what he is involved in, and his perception is, "we have all night to look at the card." Every day, we are perceiving something, whether it is right or wrong.

One may look at a person who seems perfectly fine, but rides one of the stores wheelchairs. People perceive them to be lazy, as there are no outward signs of a problem. In this case, maybe the person has back pain or walking is too much on their heart, or they sprained their ankle. Their perception is to get through the store without bumping into too many things, and get out and back home. The fair and accurate way we can stop a lot of confusion, is to talk about what we are perceiving.

Perception and truth are important to alleviate bad feelings, or even good feelings that may not happen the way we perceived. One parent may be disappointed due to their child’s report card. This child may have been perceived to be brilliant by their parents, but only gets B’s on their report card. We, of course, want to encourage our kids to try better, but are we aware that our perception was a little off. Mom and child’s perception was that all B’s is very good.

Misperceptions don’t have to be monumental problems. It’s as easy as a man being set on wearing a certain tie, perceiving that it will go nicely with his suit. His wife may look at it and say it doesn’t match at all, and gets him another tie, perceiving it will look nicer. The more we focus our minds on what our perception can lead to, the more peaceful life could be. Perception is only an opinion until one explains their thoughts and feelings. We all want to shave some anxiety from our lives. Thinking before one speaks, and being open to the fact that our perceptions may be wrong at times, is called self control.

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Susan Thom is the mother of three children, two sons, and a daughter. They are adults now, and out of the house on their own.

Writing calms her, and gives her a place to go by herself! Clears the head and gets it out. She lives in a rural area, with a lake and mountains, and her partner, and has loved writing since she was a child.

She has been on a journey of self discovery for over thirty years, and has learned many things about the human mind, and how to maintain some resemblance of calm and peace within.

If someone reads one of her stories, and relates to her feelings, and gets a suggestion on how she dealt with them in a positive way, that would be the ultimate gift of her writing.